Fixing up our second home, one project after another.

Leftovers.

(The posts that could have been.)

These 2 posts were written a while back, but I never added pictures or posted them on the last blog.

So, if you want some extra reading to fill in the gaps, keep reading (although, remember, this is only 2 of like 1000 of the gaps since we last posted). If you want to see pictures of these updates, visit the latest Dayton house post here.

Full Disclosure: Contents in these posts might be lies (see notes below).

POST #1:

Progress is slow, but we’re in it for the long haul.

So, there isn’t too much to write about these projects … but I wanted to add them to the blog to have them documented. They really were 2 of the last 3 big projects we have to completely re-do every room/aspect of this house. There is a list of finishing tasks still outstanding … like painting some trim, new hallway baseboards, new crown molding in the den, closet shelving in the bedroom … but those are more like everyone’s house has something to work on kind of projects.
The BIG 3 …

Master bedroom

Front Porch

Basement

And, #1 and #2 are completed!!!

The master bedroom needed to be repainted. I loved the green we initially picked for that room, but after everything else was put together, it just didn’t go with the flow. So, way back in time, I mentioned it in this post, but I bought paint and had plans. It just took me over a year to do the work. But, the finished product is just as awesome as I was imagining. It was a lot of painting, but none of it was hard … just time consuming. I did it over a weekend while Patrick was out of town.

The dresser, if you remember, was laminate and ugly. It’s still laminate, but now it’s painted white like our trim … with new knobs and pulls, and looks so much better! Oil-based primer (Kilz brand) really does stick to anything, and worked like a charm.

Now, the front porch … I started it last year, priming & painting. This year, I painted the door yellow, and added a new rug, curtains, and some flower pots & stuff. It is so much better out there and it all came together nicely. I’m still on the lookout for new chairs & table (the wicker ones are okay, but not great). We also planted new bushes (2 died over the super cold winter), moved some hostas around, re-planted one lavender (again, died over the winter), and started having this local guy mow & trim our yard … and it all looks great now!

2016 UPDATE:

We bought new chairs. I ended up with wicker again. They are also just okay.

The new bushes all died. We are horrible landscapers. We have a goal for the new house: to be okay at landscaping. Like, just try to keep stuff alive.

The lavender died too.

POST #2:

Why do we keep saving landscaping work for July?

The weather has gotten hot again and here I am putting my foot down saying I am going to do this dang outside work this year. So, here we go, chugging along on the landscape that is our yard.

So, we dug up the plants (mini-jungles) on either side of the steps at the front of the house, and grass was growing into the one side, albeit slowly. But, the other side was still just dirt. We had a bunch of $Bonus Bucks$ at our local nursery, and I decided to spruce up the front and side of our house. (Bonus Bucks = $1 for every $10 spent and can be redeemed for up to half your purchase = pretty good deal.)

I bought some knock-out roses for under the kitchen window. That area had never really grown grass either after digging up the bush-that-was-trying-to-invade-our-house-via-the-siding. Those look good, and once the tree there gets demoed, they’ll be full of sun and nutrients all morning, and probably really take off. (The tree is rotted and being taken care of by the city since it’s on the boulevard, which makes us 🙂 homeowners!)

Then, out front on either side of the front steps, I planted some lavender. We think its a good choice because it’s a full-sun area; and the plants don’t need a lot of water, so being on a hill that drains will be a good home for them. Down-side, we bought the plants and then it rained for like 10 days … so when I finally planted them, one was looking pretty sorry; hopefully it bounces back.

And … if you were paying attention to details … you would have noticed that the front of the house now has brick borders around the flower beds! I’ve been wanting to do this for 2 summers now and finally found a way that didn’t involve masonry work and mad skills. Another bonus? When we mow, we don’t have to trim between all those rocks! (Although, we moved the rocks to the side of the house by the roses, but that is a much smaller area, so, manageable!)

Our vegetable garden is also growing and producing superbly! We’ve gotten 2# of radishes and a few servings of green beans, along with a few hot peppers and so far one zucchini. The tomatoes have started sprouting, as are the rest of the peppers. And we have cucumbers, watermelon, cantaloupe, carrots, and green onions all on the way. The rain and temperature this year so far has been perfect for novice gardeners!

And then a few inside details that we’ve finished up …

Latches on the shutters

Finally … a painting above the couch. (Found at an estate sale and framed at Michaels, and a great fit for our room and colors!)

2016 UPDATE:

The tree WAS cut down (and completely hollow inside!) … and the knockout roses ARE doing awesome. Total win!

The lavender died. It was not a good choice. Have I mentioned we’re not good at landscaping?

TOTAL LIE – I like how the post indirectly blames you for not noticing, like it’s your fault (but I didn’t add pictures) … but I never did put in the new brick borders around the front flower beds. But, since I didn’t put pictures on this post, I won’t blame you for not noticing. What’s not a lie? I have wanted to do that project the entire time we’ve lived here … but I’m certainly not doing it now. (Also, since we hire out the mowing and trimming, we stopped caring about the grass growing between the rocks. Ray takes care of that now.)

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